Steelers Insider: Brown readies for match up with Haden

Thursday

PITTSBURGH – As Antonio Brown is finding out, with great accolades come great responsibilities.

Brown has emerged as one of the NFL’s premier receivers and this week he’ll likely face his toughest test when he goes up against Cleveland’s Joe Haden.

The league leader in receptions says he’d welcome the opportunity to match skills against Cleveland’s star cornerback 1-on-1.

“One-on-one is better than 2-on-1,” Brown said. “If you study game plans and prepare for one guy, it’s a lot easier with your matchup. (Zone and double coverage) have an effect on your routes.

“Whoever is out there, I’m going to be on my screws and ready to play. It should be a good matchup.”

Haden has matched up well against other top receivers in the division, including A.J. Green and Torrey Smith. In last week’s loss to Cincinnati, a game in which he limited Green to just two catches for seven yards, Haden had a pair of interceptions, returning one 29 yards for his first career touchdown.

“Really good football player, great instincts, great speed,” says offensive coordinator Todd Haley. “It’s really showed up against the big-time receivers he’s faced.”

Fellow Steelers receiver Emmanuel Sanders considers Haden, along with Seattle’s Richard Sherman, one of the two best corners in the game (He says he hasn’t seen enough of Darrelle Revis this season to make a judgment).

Sanders says the Steelers can’t worry about Haden or the expected bad weather, just play their game.

“It’s not about him, it’s about us,” Sanders said. “If we stay true to our technique and not get caught in the hoopla of the game, we should be fine.

- If the Steelers do run more no-huddle, as they did last week against Detroit, offensive coordinator Todd Haley isn’t saying. Haley said that favorable matchups, more than any one factor, was the reason for the shift in strategy. “I felt like earlier in the week, we were going to start out this way, if we can get things going, we can stay in it,” he said. “And that’s really what happened.”

- Last week the Steelers gave up 27 points, all in the second quarter, to shutting the Lions out in the second half. It’s an edge that defensive coordinator would rather not walk across again. “I’d say we went right to the edge of Niagara Falls but we didn’t go over,” he said. LeBeau credits the team’s leadership for the turnaround. “All of us just stuck together and got out there and had a really good second half and beat a really good team,” said LeBeau.

- The Steelers received some “big” news on the injury front in the form of 6-foot-7, 260-pound TE Matt Spaeth. On IR/designated-to-return since suffering a Lisfranc injury in training camp, Spaeth took part in individual drills Thursday but added that he has to see how his foot responds. “Didn’t do a lot but did a little bit of everything,” Spaeth said. “It felt good to be back.”

- Early forecasts for Sunday’s game in Cleveland call for snow and sub-freezing temperatures, which will feel even colder when taking the wind-chill in account. The conditions are less than ideal for anyone let alone a Richland, Ga., native like Jarvis Jones. “Man, I don’t like this cold at all -- not at all,” the rookie linebacker said. “It comes with the territory, so I’ve got to get used to it.”

- No AFC North team has beaten a fellow AFC North opponent on the road this season. Obviously, the Steelers would like to be the first. Starting with Sunday’s game at Cleveland, the Steelers will have two road games in four days against division opponents. Stuck in a three-way tie for second/last place at 4-6, the Steelers can’t look past the Ravens toward their Thanksgiving night game at Baltimore. “We’re just focusing on the first one,” said TE Heath Miller. “We know the situation we’re in. Every game is important, especially the division games.”

- Coming off a game in which he was in on five tackles and one sack, DE Ziggy Hood is prepared to see extensive playing time again if Brett Keisel (foot) can’t go again this week. “You never want to count yourself out,” Hood said. “You always want to keep pushing and making great strides and go out there and play hard.”